In the present specification, a pumping device is a mechanism which is used in a vehicle seat or the like to rotate, lock and unlock a shaft so that the rotation amount of the shaft can be adjusted and maintained.
Such a pumping device can be applied to the input side of a height adjuster for a vehicle seat, as disclosed in Korean Patent No. 457,396, entitled “Seat Height Adjuster Apparatus for Vehicle” or U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,777 entitled “Locking Device, in Particular For a Motor Vehicle Seat”, or can be applied to a recliner for rotating a seatback, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,241 entitled “Rotation Limiting Device and Seat Recliner Device Using the Same”.
However, in the conventional pumping device, since a knob is used as the input means for adjusting the rotation amount of the shaft, when mounting the pumping device to a seat, sufficient space must be secured to allow the manual operation of the pumping device, and since a considerable amount of force is required to operate the pumping device, it is difficult for an old or feeble person to manipulate the pumping device.